A guy by the name of Karl Stracke is going around talking to the media making journalists really happy and the PR department of General Motors really worried. Who is Stracke? He’s GM’s new Vice President of Global Vehicle Engineering and is from Germany, rides a Harley Davidson V-Rod and drives a Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport as his daily driver. Think of him as GM’s new Bob Lutz.

The best thing about Stracke? He’s not afraid to speak his mind. In a recent interview with the Detroit News Stracke tore apart the Chevrolet Cobalt saying: “Look at this car, it”s horrible. How did this get through so many people?”

Speaking of Cadillac, Stracke told Motor Trend in an interview that the brand is gunning for BMW. “We will bring performance to these cars”¦and be on par or better than BMW. That is our plan.”

Stracke also said that Chevrolet Camaro Z28 is on its way. While this isn’t anything new, this is the first time a GM executive has officially confirmed that the Z28 will come – so be patient. Other than that, Stracke also confirmed that the next-generation Camaro will be based on the Alpha platform – starting with the Z28, which is expected to debut sometime in 2012.